How to Start an HOA or Condo Association

• Declaration (CC&Rs): the recorded rules for the property, the common areas and the duty to pay assessments. Florida: a condo "is created by recording a declaration in the public records of the county where the land is located", signed by everyone with record title to the land (s. 718.104(2)).
• Articles of incorporation: create the corporation. A Florida HOA "must be operated by an association that is a Florida corporation" (s. 720.303(1)), and a condo association must be a Florida corporation for profit or not for profit (s. 718.111(1)(a)).
• Bylaws: board elections, directors, officers and meetings.
• California: most associations are nonprofit mutual benefit corporations. The Department of Real Estate reviews the legal setup of a new development before homes are sold to the public under its Subdivided Lands Law process.

• Texas HOA: record a management certificate naming the subdivision, the association, its mailing address and the person managing it, then file it with the Texas Real Estate Commission within 7 days (Tex. Prop. Code 209.004). Without one on record, owners do not owe collection attorney fees or interest on late assessments.
• Texas condo: the management certificate also goes to the Texas Real Estate Commission (82.116, as changed by S.B. 711, in force September 1, 2025).
• Federal tax: each year the association may elect to file Form 1120-H. To qualify, at least 60 percent of its gross income must be owners' dues and at least 90 percent of its spending must go to association property. Taxable income above a $100 deduction is taxed at 30 percent. The return is due by the 15th day of the 4th month after year end.

• Open a bank account in the association's name.
• Adopt a budget. A Florida HOA must prepare an annual budget and give each member a copy or a notice that a free copy is available.
• Decide on reserves. Florida condos must budget them; Florida HOAs may.
• Elect the board. A Florida HOA director files an education certificate within 90 days.
• Buy insurance. Florida HOAs need a fidelity bond or insurance for anyone who handles money, unless members waive it each year.
• Hold the annual meeting. Florida and Texas both require one each year.
• Set up records. Florida HOAs keep most official records for at least 7 years.

In a new development the developer controls the board until turnover. In Florida, a developer-run HOA board may not levy a special assessment unless a majority of the other owners approve it at a special meeting (s. 720.315). In Texas, owners elect a condo board of at least three members by the end of declarant control (82.103(e)). When owners take over, the board inherits the records, the bank accounts and every deadline the law sets.

The statutes we read describe associations created with a recorded declaration. They do not set a procedure for putting homes that already have separate owners under a new mandatory HOA. A Florida condo declaration must be signed by everyone with record title to the land. Ask a real estate lawyer in your state before you start.